Anyone who is at all familiar with the sport of hockey, especially at the professional levels, can attest to the injuries which can, and do, occur. Non infrequently, injuries to the players are inflicted by the hockey sticks they use, when, for example, during a scramble for the puck, the sticks are raised a little too high. Although the sticks are not necessarily voluntarily raised, there is always the danger that the blade portion of a stick may strike a player in the facial area and so occasion a possibility of serious injury. Of course, the most dangerous part of the blade is the front or toe end. This is because players use a curved blade which has a relatively thin toe portion and the edge thereof is entirely unprotected.
A search of the prior art has revealed a recognition of the hazard of blade-inflicted injury. For example, Canadian Patent to De Meza (Nov. 24, 1964; No. 698,375) teaches the use of a "shield" adapted to cover the entire top edge of the blade. Such a shield is an improvement; however, the lower portion of the toe edge and the lower corner of the toe are left entirely unprotected. As in known, that part of the blade can also cause injury when, for example, a player falls or is already prone on the ice.